Monthly Archives: February 2008

Keisuke Amagasa, Namiko Ono and other consumer activists visited the Australian Embassy in Tokyo on February 21, 2008 to deliver Japanese consumers’ request regarding genetically modified (GM) foods.

They asked the Australian government, on a national level, to firmly maintain a strict GM-free policy. Australia has such a valuable ecosystem, which is unparalleled in the world, so GM crops are a real threat to the country’s unique biodiversity. They expressed the request that GM crops should be eliminated, and not accepted.

They also strongly requested that Australia makes sure not to let GM canola to be cultivated now or in the future.

Read the letter of request to Minister for Agriculture, Hon. Tony Burke (pdf):

Consumers Union of Japan took the initiative to the No! GMO Campaign that started in 1996 as a Japanese group of citizens that were alarmed by the many problems associated with genetically manipulated (GM) food.

We were very encouraged and pleased recently as we received the news that South Australia decided to keep its GM moratorium. We wish to express our sincere appreciation to South Australia for taking this step. We would like to further ask that the strict GM-free policy is permanently maintained, for the sake of both consumers’ health and the environment. GM crops should be eliminated, and not accepted.

We strongly request that South Australia makes sure not to let GM canola be cultivated in South Australia now or in the future.

To protect our bountiful nature, food, and life, let us send a message to oppose the full-scale operation of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant.

In November 2008, the Spent-Nuclear-Fuel Reprocessing Plant in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, is suposed to start full-scale operations. This reprocessing plant collects spent-nuclear-fuel from nuclear power plants all across Japan. Plutonium and uranium will be extracted from the spent-fuel at this facility. From here, every day, a large quantity of radiation is released into the ocean and the atmosphere.

The radiation released into the ocean accumulates in the fish and seaweed. Radiation emitted into the air spreads to the mountains and fields and falls on agricultural crops. These marine and agricultural products polluted with radiation eventually reach our dining tables, and we take radiation into our bodies through our food.

There are reports that near reprocessing plants in operation in England and France, there is an extremely high incidence of leukemia in children – considered to be caused by radiation.

In the midst of these serious circumstances, the reprocessing plant is well on its way to starting-up operations. If this continues, we face the threat that our bountiful nature will become polluted with radiation and many agricultural producers will no longer be able to farm or fish. This means that we will not be able to obtain food that is safe and gives us peace of mind.

To pass on to the future generations our bountiful nature, and to protect the health of our children and families, let us send a message saying, “We do not want to allow operation of the reprocessing plant!” Let us send a message that expresses our sincere feelings to the national and local governments that are promoting this reprocessing plant.

You can send a postcard from your country, or order message cards in sets of 4 cards from Consumers Union of Japan (Donation: 400Yen for one set). Design by Green Co-op.

Consumers Union of Japan joined over 120 NGOs, individuals and companies that signed an advertisement published on February 7, 2008 in The Australian.

Stop Genetically Engineered food crops: Australia’s next cane toad

In recent years, a handful of multinational chemical companies have engineered new kinds of crops that could never occur in nature. These GE crops pose unacceptable risks to human health, the environment and the economy.

Against the interests of other states, the Victorian and New South Wales Governments recently announced they will allow their bans on GE food crops to expire end February 2008. The decision from South Australia is also pending. As a result, Australia is now on the brink of losing its green GE free status and economic advantage forever.

This decision will allow the commercial release of GE canola. Like cane toads, the release of GE canola would be irreversible, as GE canola crops can cross state borders and contaminate non-GE canola crops. It will remove choice from farmers who want to remain GE free.

No systems of segregating GE canola crops or contamination control have yet been devised. Therefore no State government should lift its GE ban without the agreement of all that will be affected.

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Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ) is a politically and financially independent non-governmental organization (NGO). CUJ is funded by membership fees, sales of its publications and donations.
CUJ was founded in April 1969 as Japan's first nationwide grassroots consumer organization. CUJ was officially certified as a non-profit organization on May 1, 2006 by the Japanese NPO legislation.